The Tudor Society

8 December – The death of Sir William Coffin, master of the horses, and the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots

On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire.

It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great sickness, full of God’s marks all over his body”.

Who was Sir William Coffin and what did the Master of the Horse do?

Find out in this talk...

Also on this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland.

She was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and his second wife, Marie de Guise, and she became Queen of Scotland when she was just six days old.

You can find out about her life, including her three marriages and abdication, her imprisonment and downfall, in this talk...

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8 December – The death of Sir William Coffin, master of the horses, and the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots